Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Acquires 4,201,422 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in International Paper by 8.8%, owning approximately 51.8 million shares worth $2.76 billion after purchasing an additional 4.2 million shares during the first quarter.
• International Paper reported a loss of $0.20 EPS in its latest quarterly results, missing estimates by $0.18, although it achieved revenue of $6.77 billion, higher than the expected $6.64 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4625 per share, providing an annual yield of 3.9%, with a current dividend payout ratio of -1,850.00%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,201,422 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 9.81% of International Paper worth $2,763,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Paper by 52.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,623,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,340,966,000 after purchasing an additional 21,428,455 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 19.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,145,485 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $914,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,042 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 230.0% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,965,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $211,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,634 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the 1st quarter worth $132,900,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 3,304.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,547,255 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $135,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472,443 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Paper Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of International Paper stock traded up $0.57 during trading on Monday, hitting $49.46. 3,808,318 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,435,693. The stock has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -494.60 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.33. International Paper Company has a twelve month low of $43.27 and a twelve month high of $60.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.73.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. International Paper had a positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. International Paper's dividend payout ratio is -1,850.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IP shares. Truist Financial set a $59.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research cut International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $43.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Paper from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.46.

About International Paper

International Paper Company produces and sells renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through two segments, Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers. The company offers linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft; and pulp for a range of applications, such as diapers, towel and tissue products, feminine care, incontinence, and other personal care products, as well as specialty pulps for use in textiles, construction materials, paints, coatings, and others.